Timeline of Events
Session 0: * The original 16 MEF recruits crash land outside of the Ghanin Sector before beginning basic training. The pilot of their transport was injured in the crash, forcing the new recruits to scavenge for parts to get their ship functional enough to send a distress signal. Their compads detected a derelict ship in the wilderness. * Exploration of the ship revealed it to be a Thestyn research vessel. While opening a failed Thestyn stasis pod, Oleg Komarov inhaled what would have been a fatal dose of contaminated preservation gases, if not for the intervention of Eduardo Borrego. This ordeal alerted Lakhilan "drones" -- cyborgs with extreme mental conditioning -- which had been programmed to attack any intruders. Deeper in the ship, the recruits discovered a Audrima Gelspawn that had escaped its captivity some time after the vessel had crashed. Since its escape, the Gelspawn had instinctively digested any organic substances it came across. Not wishing the same fate, the recruits dispatched it with an unhealthy dose of laserfire. * Salvaging Lakhilan drones and other parts of the ship provided the crew with some materials, but not enough to complete the repairs they needed. Eventually the recruits discovered the ship's primary laboratory with a rather insane Thestyn Captain Athaz continuing his research as if the vessel had never crashed. When questioned about the year of the vessel's departure, the Captain became confused and agitated. He further provided information that dozens of Lakhilan drones were still aboard the vessel, but that he lacked an assistant capable of helping with his research. One of the recruits, Kayrah Musa, had previous experience with Thestyns and knew that they performed extensive cybernetic augmentations to elite members of their population to extend their lifespans. Those had live long enough typically had no more than a skull and brain to identify their previous human bodies. * Captain Athaz agreed to provide the remaining equipment the recruits needed in exchange for one of their brighter members becoming his lab assistant. Ana Lebedev had joined the MEF to help others, even if it meant risking her life. She fully understood the likely fate of such an assistant, but volunteered in order to save the lives of her 15 fellow recruits and their injured pilot. * Working together, the recruits were able to jury-rig the communications relay and sent a distress signal. Within days the crew had been rescued, but the MEF Ranger team sent to them had been unable to find Captain Athaz or Recruit Lebedev when they searched the derelict vessel. Session 1: * More than a year has passed since the events on the Thestyn ship. In that timeframe, the recruits had finished both their basic and specialist training in Danassa's capital city, Hanhona. Their MEF Mission Coordinator, Jitsuko Seigi, had provided them with their latest mission offerings: Operation "Agbaje Rescue and Investigation": Asagwara Agbaje has been lost in a hostile region of the jungle in search of a vault containing ancient Pretech. Your mission is to rescue Asagwara and to optionally locate the vault. Operation "Blue Wedding": Yorimi Ochi wishes to elope with Tocrid, an alien whose species is native to Danassa, but was forcefully relocated into conclaves during Mandate colonization hundreds of years ago. Further complicating matters is that interspecies marriage is forbidden by Tocrid’s people. Your mission is to help to prevent a diplomatic incident or provide security at the wedding if negotiations fall through. Operation "Static Code": A locked Pretech stasis pod has been discovered by Yusuf Mansoor along with the coordinates to the key that will unlock it. The keycode is located at a remote spaceport that has fallen into disrepair due to overgrowth of mutant vegetation. Your mission is to escort Yusuf to the spaceport and retrieve the keycode. Whether or not to open the stasis pod is left to your crew's discretion. * Seeking the opportunity to discover wealth or resources, the crew chose to search for their fellow Ranger, Asagwara Agbaje. While the crew had Asagwara's last known coordinates and a capable pilot, Francisco "Cisco" Torrillas, they lacked experience navigating the hyperallergenic jungles of Danassa. They decided to pay a visit to the MEF base's watering hole to see if they could find a capable guide. Despite his near-death experience, Oleg felt indebted to the crew for saving his life and not abandoning him to Captain Athaz. Driven by his curious nature and desire to explore, Oleg had chosen Wilderness Survival as his specialist training and was more than capable of helping the crew track down Asagwara. Given some additional persuasion by Yuan "Z" Zhang, Oleg even called in a favor from a friend who owed him money to provide the Rangers with a shuttle for transportation. * Upon arrival to coordinates, the crew discerned that Asagwara's personal transport had been stripped for parts. Using some mechanical expertise, they managed to salvage some overlooked pieces of the transport. While no footprints were discernible in the week that had passed since Asagwara's last communication relay, Oleg found scrapings on the trees that had been left by hard manmade materials, such as armor or weaponry * Led by Oleg, the Rangers followed the trail until Eduardo noticed some hazardous Fog Tulips. While unintelligent, the carnivorous Fog Tulips can sense potential food sources and release a paralytic gas and consume their disabled victims. Fortunately the atmofilters the crew had rented for the excursion prevented exposure to the toxin and they were able to neutralize the plants, but were attacked by a Dire Chameleon that had been stalking them. Cisco battered the Chameleon's eyes, while Eduardo and Z finished the beast off. * As they continued along the trail, Oleg was suddenly shot at by a Gaznamese rebel. He suffered a grazing wound on his neck that could have easily been fatal, if it hadn't been an inch off the mark. The rebel was one of three holding Asagwara hostage. The Rangers attempted to let cooler heads prevail and disarmed the lone attacker with a well placed shot. After a series of failed negotiations by Z and Eduardo, the rebel unit leader executed Asagwara and the firefight resumed. * The instigating Gaznamese rebel could sense they were outmatched and fled the scene. While trying to approach one of the remaining two rebels, Z was hit with a burst of submachine gun fire to the abdomen. Cisco unintentionally avenged him with a disarming shot that ricocheted off the rebel's ulna into his chest and killing him on the spot. Eduardo, the resident gunslinger, decided the best course of action was to demoralize the remaining rebel leader with a castrating pulse of laserfire. Instead this enraged him and he attempted to go down fighting, but his gun jammed. He threw down his weapon and attempted to flee, but was successfully captured by Cisco. Eduardo stabilized Z with a Lazarus patch, some field surgery, and a dose of Lift to get him back on his feet. * Despite having no pertinent information regarding the Pretech Vault or anything of value, the Rangers took the Gaznamese rebel hostage. Z was able to successfully hack Asagwara's compad and found the coordinates of the Vault. Oleg located the massive Vault which had gone mostly undisturbed due to the overgrown jungle environment obscuring its electrical signals. The Vault had long been in a state of disrepair, with flooded corridors, crumbling structures, and exposed wiring. After being forced to take the point for the Rangers, their hostage took an agonizingly fatal spray from one of the Acid Beetles that had taken up residency in the vault. The crew quickly eliminated the swarm of Acid Beetles with the only harm coming from some acid eating through Cisco's boot after he stomped one to death. * When the Z and Eduardo stabilized the fluctuating power generator and activated it, the lights returned to normal operation instead of flickering and buzzing. This sudden change in lighting disturbed something deeper in the Vault, as indicated by the loud screechings they heard echoing through the halls. Proceeding quietly, they discovered a medical laboratory with vials of experimental retroviral serum capable of dramatically mutating their recipient. Despite the high risk involved, the hotshot Z injected himself and had positive compatibility with the serum. * During their investigation of the lab, the crew heard more screeching, interspersed with gunshots and screaming. As they entered the main conference room, they caught a glimpse of a Water Leaper flying through the air. A well-placed shot by Cisco tore a ragged hole through one of its membranous wings and sent it crashing to the ground. The enraged Water Leaper charged at Cisco, but was unable to close the distance before being pummeled by Cisco and having its poisonous tail severed by Eduardo. Z felled the creature with precise strokes of his powered monoblade and crushed its skull with his boot. * Not seeking further confrontation, the Rangers investigated a flooded passageway that led to a Pretech artifact. Oleg wasn't exactly sure what the machine was capable of, but could determine two facts: it was an advanced, but non-intelligent, computer networked to the entire facility, and it was Maltech. Oleg pleaded for the crew not to report their findings to MEF, because the Perimeter division would likely destroy the artifact and the entire vault rather than risk the dangers associated with Maltech. Eduardo was able to convince Oleg that they would keep his secret in exchange for whatever benefits arose from the "off the books" research Oleg and his team would perform. Session 1 Epilogue: Operation "Agbaje Rescue and Investigation" Update: '''While the Ranger crew did successfully locate the artifact, they discovered that it was some kind of Maltech computer developed before the Scream. Instead of reporting their findings, they decided to run an "off the books" research project, with Oleg at the helm. '''Operation "Static Code" Update: '''Yusuf's was found dead next to the now unlocked and open Pretech Stasis Pod. Cause of death is currently unknown and being investigated by local police. '''Operation "Blue Wedding" Update: '''Without anyone intervening on their behalf, tensions rose between the wedding party and the local community. A local Gaznamese resident discovered bound, castrated, and possibly tortured to death further aggravated the situation. '''Session 2: * Because Agbaje was killed in action and the artifact's discovery was not reported, the mission was deemed a failure by Mission Coordinator Seigi and the Rangers were not granted their Operation's Bonus. She presented the following options for the Rangers' next mission. Operation "Devilfish": Estevan Motolinia has requested assistance investigating a seedy "establishment," the Peppermint Octopus. He believes they may be linked to a criminal organization, but will only provide further information in person. Your mission is to make contact with Estevan and investigate any wrongdoing involved. Operation "Piety Crash: Yusuf Mansoor's corpse was found next to the now opened Pretech stasis pod he had recently discovered. Your mission is to investigate Yusuf's apparent murder. Optionally, you may also investigate what was in the pod and its current whereabouts. '''Operation "Sakura Chase": '''Yorimi and Tocrid's wedding ceremony has been ambushed and most of the attendees present were killed. Yorimi Ochi's whereabouts are unknown. Your mission is to find those responsible and locate Yorimi Ochi if possible. * Spurred on by the immediate danger still facing their former training partner, the crew chose Operation "Sakura Chase." The wedding ceremony was being held in the tree nursery owned and operated by Tocrid, Yorimi's groom. The nursery was known for growing exotic trees that produced bioluminescent fruit. A strange side effect of the bioelectrical currents produced by the fruit is that it scrambles navigation and communication equipment when in high concentrations. * Since they had not previously been to Tocrid's nursery, they needed a local to provide them directions. Yuan knew Yorimi's friend Asna frequented an MEF dive bar, the Copper Jacket. Cisco had enjoyed more than a few nights at the Copper Jacket and led the way. Asna had run some "side jobs" with Yorimi in the past, but Tocrid had come between them. Asna had a xenophobic streak and had been uninvited from the wedding. Despite this, she had no ill will towards Yorimi and wanted to help the crew investigate the incident. * Once Asna got them close enough, the screams and plumes of smoke led the Rangers the rest of the way. Upon arrival, the Rangers began performing emergency medical care for wounded attendees. After multiple botched attempts from Eduardo, the untrained, but gifted "Z" stepped in and the two were able to stabilize three of the attendees. A hulking medic named Gesnof and his assistant Larri were able to save the remainder. * Questioning the witnesses revealed the following rumors: Yorimi, the not-fullly reformed criminal, had stolen Tocrid's mother's wedding bracelet. Tocrid's nursery had been on hard times and he was badly in debt. Noctil, a local loan shark and revolutionist, was the leader of the group who bombed the wedding. * Having expended two Lazarus patches in failed attempts to stabilize the wedding attendees, Eduardo negotiated a trade with Larri the EMT -- in exchange for three Lazarus patches, Eduardo would trade him a signed holographic cassette from Radiance, one of the "dancers" from Peppermint Octopus. Eduardo acquired Radiance's contact information, the cassette, and an STI from his recent visit to the Gentlemen's Club. After wheeling and dealing at the tragic scene, Eduardo began looting the bodies of the attendees, but returned the credits when he realized how little they had. Yuan managed to acquire a wedding bracelet and Tocrid's wedding vows from Tocrid's brutalized corpse. Investigation of the human men in attendance revealed that that they had all been castrated via gunfire. * Multiple witnesses confirmed that Yorimi fled into the Tiberivale float parade with Noctil and his men in pursuit. A deranged Gaznamese sniper had taken position on one of the rooftops and was firing indiscriminately at human civilians fleeing the scene. Cisco quickly took control of one of the parade hovercrafts and crushed one of Noctil's men with it. One of the terrorists tried to replicate the stunt, but had his clock cleaned with Z's laser pistol. Eduardo wounded the sniper and drove him into retreat. A lobbed grenade threatened Cisco's hovercraft, but mostly only ignited the decorations adorning the float. Cisco went for a repeat performance, but settled for a forearm blow that crushed a terrorist's internal organ's as Cisco drifted the hovercraft around a corner. Z sent a speeding hovercraft crashing into the building the sniper had holed up in, bailing out at the last moment. Unfortunately the sniper had already fled the building and his trail couldn't be found. *